But Stubbs is going to do something about it after drawing a line under last season.

It’s onwards and upwards now – and there’s no better way to start than with a win over their closest rivals.

He said: “A few people forget that Hearts went down as well. Sometimes I get the impression just one team went down last season.

“There is more of a positive feel around there while everything at this moment in time seems to be very negative here.

“It’s the general consensus from speaking to people that there is a cloud.

“We’re trying to move on from what happened at the club last season.

“You talk about it having a negative effect on the players but it’s the same for Hearts because their players need picking up – they went down as well. There is enough talk about last season. That’s in the past and now we move on.

“The negative is outside, there is nothing in the dressing room. You can use it as a motivation. If you look at everyone’s perception it’s Rangers top, Hearts second and Hibs third.

“If they see it going that way then that’s fine. We’re quite happy to fly under the radar.”